The Big Bang Theory: "The Grasshopper Experiment"Review

Share.

Rajesh gets drunk and finally talks to a woman.

By James Chamberlin

Much of the attention thus far has been on the two main geeks, Leonard and Sheldon. Of the others, Rajesh has gotten the fewest number of lines. While this is due to his shyness around women, he rarely carries the conversations when he and his friends are hanging out. For those of us who have wanted to learn a little more about Rajesh, we got our chance with "The Grasshopper Experiment."

Rajesh's parents have begun meddling in his love life. They have set him up with a girl he grew up with. When she calls and leaves a voice mail, Rajesh doesn't have the guts to call her back. In walks Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg). He casually takes Rajesh's cell phone and calls Rajesh's date, Lalita. Now the call wasn't very long, but the Indian accent was absolutely hilarious. It was very over the top; think Apu from FOX's The Simpsons. I swear Simon Helberg could have been doing Apu at times.

Kunal Nayyar as Rajesh

Sheldon's eccentricities have been well documented so far. He's very particular about the way some things are and is rarely willing to adapt. This was demonstrated twice this week. The wallet he bought didn't have enough slots for all of his membership cards so he was "forced" to cancel his membership to the planetarium. The second example had to do with his preference for Diet Coke. Penny is now working as a bartender at the restaurant and needed some practice, so she asked the boys if she could mix them a few drinks. Sheldon wasn't able to get his Diet Coke, so he asked for a diet virgin cuba libre, which is simply a Diet Coke (rum and Coke, minus the rum). Penny got him back by including rum in his drink later on, which caused Sheldon to be a bit more outgoing than usual.

The bartender subplot worked well with Rajesh's situation. His inability to talk to women was gone the second he took a sip of the Grasshopper Penny prepared for him. Rajesh was new to drinking, so he was a little drunk during his date with Lalita. In fact, the date was a disaster. Their interactions weren't very funny. Much of the comedy came from none other than Howard Wolowitz. Let's face it, he delivered some excellent one-liners. He really stole the show in my opinion. This man sporting a terrible haircut is becoming my favorite character.